


Once More

by CJWrites



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Chapter 401 Spoilers, Gen, Pro Volleyball Player Kageyama Tobio, Pro Volleyball Player Kindaichi Yuutarou, Reconciliation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25432747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CJWrites/pseuds/CJWrites
Summary: It had been a split second, impulsive decision.How would Kageyama know that some fan had snapped a picture of him when he demanded Kunimi and Kindaichi play volleyball with him again? How would he know she would post it on twitter? How would he know that Hinata would obsessively read every single tweet about his debut match to set up this ‘surprise’ for him?Alternatively: Kageyama doesn’t have to retire to play volleyball with Kindaichi and Kunimi again.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kageyama Tobio & Kindaichi Yuutarou, Kageyama Tobio & Kindaichi Yuutarou & Kunimi Akira, Kageyama Tobio & Kunimi Akira, Kindaichi Yuutarou & Kunimi Akira
Comments: 11
Kudos: 121





	Once More

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was mostly written before chapter 402 came out. Can't believe the haikyuu manga is over...
> 
> I've always been a sucker for KinKuniKage reconciliation fics and now I finally have an idea for my own.
> 
> Enjoy!

Kageyama hadn’t suspected anything when an unknown number, claiming to be Hinata, challenged him to a “casual 3 on 3” the following Sunday at the Sendai recreation center. He simply texted back three letters in agreement before slipping his phone back into his pocket.

He had briefly thought about who the other players would be. He’d guessed correctly that Tsukishima and Yamaguchi would come and he guessed correctly that Yachi would tag along to referee. But he thought Tanaka or Daichi or even Suga would fill the other two spots. Well, whoever it was, he was going to win.

This he didn’t expect.

“You said you wanted to play with turnip tip and sleepy head again, right?” Hinata tilted his head like a confused bird. “It’s only a short time before you head abroad and since we’re all in the same place for once, I thought it’d be fun!”

“Turnip tip?” Kageyama asked incredulously. 

“You know, Turnip head, but he shaved the sides off” Hinata made a face to imitate Kindaichi’s deadpan look as he smushed the sides of his puffy hair with his hands,

Kageyama would have laughed if it weren’t for the sheer severity of the situation. 

“How did you get a hold of them anyway?” He demanded.

“They still have the same phone number from the first year training camp in high school!” Hinata beamed. “We all exchanged numbers at the end,” Hinata scrunched his nose up in displeasure. “Well, except for Tsukki, but I had his number anyway”

Speak of the devil.

“Why am I here again?” Tsukishima asked monotonously.

“Hinata convinced you to check out Kindaichi’s skills before your upcoming match against the Elephants?” Yamaguchi suggested with a sly grin on his face. “Besides, we’re happy to help a friend mend fences with former teammates, right?”

Kageyama glared in Hinata’s direction. Of course, the opposite hitter had told everyone. Of course, all of Kageyama’s closest friends knew about that cringe-inducing moment, fuelled by the adrenaline of the match and the bitterness of his loss. Of course, this was what his life would come to. Well, at least it’s not trending like his power curry ad.

Tsukishima’s face remained neutral as he processed this information. Finally, he sighed. “Well, let’s just get this over with. His Highness and his rebellious knights on the same team, right?”

Kunimi and Kindaichi stiffened at the reminder but Kageyama thought it was odd more than anything else. Kageyama barely heard that nickname after their first year. Not since he stopped reacting to Tsukishima’s taunts, but this time it didn’t feel like Tsukishima was egging Kageyama on. This time, it was almost like the insult was directed at Kunimi and Kindaichi. Was Tsukishima being protective? No that can’t be it.

“Kindaichi-san, Tadashi,” Yachi called out to the two former captains. “Umm… so Kitagawa Daiichi will be tails, and Karasuno will be heads, got it?”

Kindaichi and Tadashi nodded as Yachi flipped the coin.

It landed on tails.

Kageyama serves first.

He could sense the opposing team’s tension as they rolled back and forward on their feet. Would it be a floater or a spike? He smirked and took great joy as the ball slammed into Yamaguchi’s arms and bounced out of bounds.

The rest of the match didn’t go as favourably for his team

Hinata had been a menace during the official match, but in a three on three, he was practically unstoppable. No matter where Kunimi and Kindaichi spiked the quicks Kageyama set, Hinata was there to receive it. If Yamaguchi received it instead, Hinata would send a simple but effective toss to Tsukishima, whose height, power and intellect blew past Kageyama and Kindaichi’s uncoordinated blocks with ease. Hinata, Nishinoya or Heiwajima could’ve saved those balls, but Kunimi was just a little too out of shape to dig them out.

Strangely, Kageyama didn’t mind. Of course, he wanted to destroy Hinata one more time. He wanted to outsmart Tsukishima and wipe that smug smirk off his face. Of course, he wanted to win, but strangely winning didn’t matter as much as just playing, Kageyama felt a fuzzy feeling inside whenever Kunimi received the ball, sending it up high and giving Kageyama plenty of time to move into position. Or when he noticed the look of awe and surprise as his tosses appeared in front of Kindaichi exactly where he brought his hand down. It was nostalgic.

They end up losing three straight sets, even if that last set was particularly close.

“Well it can’t be helped,” Kunimi muttered quietly, still panting and taking slow sips from his water bottle. “Those three played together for years and even made it to nationals multiple times,”

“Who knew Karasuno’s chibi could set so well,” Kindaichi grinned

Kunimi turned to look at Kageyama. “It’s scary how accurate your tosses are though. I guess that’s the level pros play at.”

By the end of his high school career, Kageyama had gotten used to beating Seijou in both practice matches and tournaments. Practice matches at the start of the year between their two schools had become tradition, and weekend training camps consisting of different schools within their prefecture had become regular as well.

In their second year, just like Kageyama predicted, that new brown-haired setter couldn’t quite fill the hole left by Oikawa, and barely made it to the quarter-finals in both tournaments. Kageyama hadn’t even gotten to beat them in a tournament.

Their third-year team, led by Kindaichi as captain and Kunimi as vice-captain, had been much better put together. They had to have been to meet Karasuno in the finals of the Spring High Preliminaries, even taking down Shiratorizawa along the way. The libero from Kitagawa Daiichi, who’d been a starter with Kageyama in middle school, and their new setter had brought fresh talent to the team, but even then, it hadn’t been enough.

Karasuno ranked third place at nationals that year. 

Kageyama had relished the resentful glares Kunimi and Kindaichi sent his way after every practice match he won and after every quick Hinata hit and he'd been too preoccupied with his victory the one time they met in a tournament to pay attention to his former teammates.

It almost made Kageyama think he’d overwritten their bitter past together in middle school in Kageyama’s mind. Almost.

“And it’s been a long time since we played together,” Kageyama remarked as he bent down to change into his regular sneakers. “I’d nearly forgotten what it feels like to play with instead of against you two.”

“But you still remembered,” Kindaichi looked up from the volleyball in his hands. His eyes were wide with awe as they met Kageyama’s. “That I like my tosses high and slow.”

Kageyama stood back up to regard Kindaichi. The setter still held his volleyball shoes in one hand, but the other was clenched into a fist. “I hadn’t. Not until I noticed you struggling with quicks in the first set.” His nails dug into the sweaty inner lining of his sneakers. “Besides. I never gave you high and slow tosses in middle school. If you told me you liked high and slow tosses, I never listened.”

The way Kindaichi tensed told Kageyama that the middle blocker never did tell his middle school setter his preferred tosses. Of course, anxious, jittery Kindaichi would never be able to muster up the courage to ask for the tosses he wanted from anyone, much less someone as standoffish as Kageyama was. At least not until all the frustration bottled up inside burst out in all the wrong ways. Kageyama should’ve noticed, and should’ve asked instead of dictating the game’s flow like he always did back then.

Oikawa had noticed. He had made Kindaichi jump higher during high school than Kageyama could have in middle school.

“Listen um… Kageyama,” Kindaichi started. He fiddled with the volleyball in his hand. “For what happened in middle school-”

“Don’t,” Kageyama interrupted at the same time that Kunimi let out a huge sigh. 

“You’re still hung up about that?” Kunimi threw his hands up in the air, the water in his still open water bottle sloshed around, and some of it splashed onto the gymnasium floor. Kunimi’s eyes flickered to it and he frowned before he redirected his attention back towards Kindaichi. His lips thinned. To Kageyama, it seemrd like Kunimi didn't want to apologize either.

“And you’re not sorry at all?” Kindaichi retorted.

Kunimi gave a noncommittal shrug as he screwed the top of his water bottle back on. “Maybe, but I’m not hung up about it like you are. We were kids. In middle school. Being shitty to each other is what kids in middle school do. Kageyama understands right?”

Kageyama gave a curt nod.

“But that’s not an excuse!” Kindaichi shouted as he rounded on Kageyama. “It felt terrible, right?”

“Of course,” Kageyama scowled. “And it felt terrible when you told me we were never friends in the first place,”

Both Kunimi and Kindaichi flinched at those words. Kindaichi looked terribly ashamed and went back to staring pointedly at his volleyball.

“Sorry,” Kindaichi muttered. “I shouldn’t have said that,”

Relief washed over Kageyama. 

He had spent the weeks after being benched, quietly fuming and recollecting. He avoided the gym, even though the other third years dropped by to see the team after retirement, and he practiced alone as he replayed every outburst and mistake over the year in his mind.

By the time of the practice match, he’d resolved to do better, but something broke when Kindaichi said they were never friends in the first place. When they turned his back on him, he’d felt ashamed, frustrated and a desperate need to do better. When Kindaichi said they were never friends, Kageyama could only feel a hollow feeling I'm the bottom of his stomach.

He’d never been extremely close with anyone in middle school. Kageyama knew Kindaichi and Kumini were close. They were friends even in elementary school and went to each other's houses after practice. The two of them never hung out with Kageyama outside of school and the three of them barely saw each other outside of classes but Kageyama had definitely counted Kindaichi and Kunimi on the short list of friends he had. Maybe even his closest friends in middle school. Those ice cream runs after practice and those breaks they spent doing homework together. Had none of that mattered?

Those feelings faded over time, but every so often, when Kageyama couldn’t sleep at night, Kindaichi’s words drifted back to the surface and Kageyama wondered if his high school best friend felt the same way. Hinata had this infectious energy that drew people towards him. He had lots of friends. He didn’t need Kageyama like Kageyama needed him.

Kageyama’s eyes darted towards the other side of the court before he refocused on the two former teammates in front of him.

“But that match was a wakeup call. I needed that,” Kageyama said. “It must’ve felt terrible for you to put up with my yelling the entire year,” 

Kunimi remained impassive but Kindaichi slowly nodded as he continued to stare at his volleyball.

Kageyama had been in a bad place that year. His grandfather’s death, the pressure of carrying his team to nationals and the overwhelming feeling of being alone weighed on him heavily. Still, that didn’t excuse his words.

“If I’d gone to Seijoh, I would’ve been stuck in Oikawa’s shadow” Kageyama continued “I would’ve continued playing like I did in middle school.”

He remembered ripping up his Aoba Johsai acceptance letter and flushing it down the toilet. He remembered checking his mail every day for an invitation that would never come. He remembered staring at the test results, desperately scanning for a name he knew wouldn’t be on there. Now he understood why Shiratorizawa hadn’t wanted him. Kageyama wouldn’t have invited middle school him if he’d been the head coach of Shiratorizawa. Skill was easily honed. Attitude was hard to change. Shiratorizawa didn’t care about upholding his grandfather’s legacy or how hard he worked or how talented he was. In the end, he hadn’t had the right attitude for Shiratorizawa. He still didn’t know if he had the right attitude for Coach Washijo’s straight-laced tactics, but he sure had a better one.

“If I hadn’t gone to Karasuno, I wouldn’t be the player I am today”

His eyes flitted towards the ball of sunshine on the other side of the court who currently seemed to be in a one-sided shouting match with Tsukishima. The tall middle blocker had a smug grin on his face and seemed to be enjoying riling his former classmate on. Yachi was lowkey panicking and trying to break up the fight while off to the side, Yamaguchi laughed at the nostalgic scene.

“Well, who knows what kind of setter I’d have been if I’d gone to Seijou,” Kageyama admitted with a sour expression on his face. “If I’d gone, we definitely would’ve made nationals. We would have crushed Karasuno, and Shiratorizawa and Dateko.”

“Kageyama!” Hinata shouted and waved. “We’re going to Sakanoshita and getting meat buns! You’re coming, right?”

Kageyama gave a curt nod in Hinata’s direction before tilting his head at Kunimi and Kindaichi. “Later then,”

Kunimi nodded. 

“Yeah… later.” Kindaichi looked like a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He finally looked up from his volleyball and broke into a grin. “And tell Tsukishima that this year, the Elephants are gonna crush the Frogs. Then next year, when we get promoted and we’ll kick the Jackal's butts too”

Kageyama flashed Kindaichi a wicked grin before turning towards the other Karasuno grads. As he walked to rejoin them, he heard snippets of conversation floating towards him.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t going to apologize at the start of high school?”

“Yeah.”

“But weren’t you also the one who also panicked and blubbered for an hour after school when you realized Kageyama wasn’t coming to Seijou?” Kunimi teased. He cleared his throat “Something about: Kuuunnniiimmmiiiii!” Kunimi pitched his voice higher in an uncanny imitation of the taller player. “What if he hates us? What if we never get to play with him again? What if Karasuno doesn’t make it???”

“Well I thought we’d get to play together in high school and he’d learn his lesson and the team would become better for it!” Kindaichi shouted at Kunimi, not even trying to stay out of Kagaeyama’s earshot, “How would I know he would go to some fallen powerhouse and turn it into the next Shiratorizawa?”

“And the entire year, you oscillated between pining for him and hating him,” Kageyama could picture the smirk on Kunimi’s face even without turning around. “One day it would be, I wonder if Kageyama’s doing alright, and the next it would be: Who cares about that jerk anyway?”

“Kuuunnniiimmmiiiii!” Kindaichi whined.

Kageyama glanced over his shoulder to see Kunimi laughing and aligning his arm across Kindaichi's shoulders. Kindaichi’s shoulders tensed at the shorter man’s touch, but before long, he relaxed and Kageyama could see a dopey grin forming on the middle blocker’s face before the gym doors slammed shut.

“Kageyama!” Hinata called one last time, he had a giant grin on his face and was still waving excitedly at them. “Hurry up you slowpoke!”

“Coming,” Kageyama replied, hastening his steps. 

“You know, that makes 1099 wins for me,” Hinata bragged, “One more and I’ll catch up!”

“Hah?” Kageyama couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “1097 wins. One practice session one win, not one win per set, dumbass. Honestly… Besides, we’re not including practice matches and pickup games,”

“Oh yeah?” Hinata’s eyes caught Kageyama’s glare and a mutual understanding formed, “Not if I get to Sakanoshita before you!”

Kageyama’s hands darted towards the rec room door, determined to get through before Hinata, It seemed like Hinata had the same idea, as the two men tried to squeeze past each other in a desperate attempt to be first.

Kageyama managed to break through first, and his sneakers squeaked on the hallway floors as he bolted towards the front door, Hinata close behind. 

“What are they, teenagers?” Tsukishima muttered, “I’m exhausted just looking at them.”

“Isn’t… Sakanoshita five kilometres away?” Yachi asked apprehensively. “Weren’t we going to take the bus? Or did I assume again?”

Yamaguchi stared at the door, still swinging back and forth, before bursting into laughter. “Well, some things never change.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Constructive criticism welcome! 
> 
> Thank you to epsi10n for betaing! Check out their amazing Harry Potter fanfiction!


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